It is once again the season of remembering.
Everyone has been feeling the adrenaline rush: packing their clothes, in a haste to arrive at the bustling terminals. The addition of exhaustion as one falls in line, enduring the heavy luggage – yet always eager to go and embrace the warmth of home. Always, during the end of October and the start of November.
Every year on November 1 and 2, people celebrate All Saints’ Day to honor the saints of the Church that are believed to have reached heaven. It is said that Pope Gregory III made All Saints’ Day a holiday on November 1 back in 837 A.D., and then, under the rule of King Louis the Pious, it became an official holy day of obligation.
It is a solemn day where Christians or most individuals attend a religious mass, and within, they light candles and offer prayers to the dead.
The next holiday, All Souls’ Day, has been a longstanding custom in the culture of Filipinos. It is one way of commemorating the death of a person’s loved ones who have departed. People would go to the cemetery before the exact day of the celebration to clean the graves and beautify the tombstones.
Rekindling and Sharing Memories
Said meetings are to happen at the mausoleums of their beloved late relatives. As a practice, they offer a small amount of food to the deceased. Alongside, a candle is lit, and they place a bouquet of flowers – to show respect and honor to the people who died.
Since the events include family gatherings, people tend to cook various dishes and kakanins as a tradition during the two holidays. Examples would be creamy and caramelized suman or rice cake, puto, inday-inday; adobo, menudo, fried tilapia, and so on.
It is fascinating that despite the hectic schedules, everybody will still make time to personally go to the cemetery for the celebration of life. People can always pray and reminisce and create or find ways to show respect and affection to their late relatives and loved ones.
In the end, however, nothing beats the feeling of being beside them while casually talking, giving updates, crying your hearts out, and sharing all your amusing and grieving stories with them.
Nothing beats the moment of lighting the candle, facing their tombs with closed eyes – a plea of hope, in the comfort of their presence, the wind as a reassurance that you are being heard – subtle connections such as these makes going home, visiting, worthwhile. Both vague yet clear: the validation of missing them, and what matters is that love is present.
Acknowledgement of Holding and Letting Go
Remembering all the great memories, people are often captivated with their emotions of grief and sorrow. It’s always the thought of “maybe, I am healed,” yet the repetition of longing is there. People cried, people plead, it is undeniable that everyone has this hidden baggage of not wanting to let go of someone they truly loved.
At the end of the day, people would still have breakthroughs. Some may have moved on, some may haven’t, yet cherishing such emotions is the reason they visit. It is indeed the days of remembering before moving with time once more.
Holding on to the heartaches, the what if’s, is valid. Yet, so is letting go. With different ways of grieving, the people still celebrate All Saint’s and All Soul’s the same: with their families, with their loved ones – with reassurance, and comfort, of what may be, and used to be, with their departed loved ones.
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